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IBM Previews Revamped DB2 Tools, Offers OLAP Promotion
by Timothy Prickett Morgan
IBM last week announced a preview of two revamped
tools related to its DB2 family of databases. These tools will be available on July 26, probably alongside
OS/400 V5R2 if that operating system ships on time. IBM has launched into the DB2 tools business in the
mainframe and midrange markets in the past year, in some cases stealing business from its partners. IBM
has been very successful with mainframe DB2 tools and wants to start making similar money on the
OS/400 platform.
The tools that will be available on July 26 are follow-ons to two tools announced in September 2001: DB2
Table Editor for iSeries V4.2 and DB2 Web Query Tool for iSeries V1.2. The revamped tools will come
out this summer at the V4.3 and V1.3 releases, respectively. IBM says the new DB2 Tool Editor for iSeries
will replace DB2 forms for AS/400 (5697-G14).
The DB2 Tool Editor (5697-G84) runs on the OS/400 platform and allows users connected to an iSeries or
AS/400 server to connect to multiple DB2 databases running on any machine that is networked to that
OS/400 server and manipulate DB2 databases running on any operating system or hardware platform. IBM
has three distinct DB2 code bases--one for OS/400, one for OS/390-z/OS, and one for Unix, Linux, and
Windows--that have very different internal structures, histories, and tunings, even though they all share the
same name. DB2 Tool Editor uses a browser-based interface that allows users to access databases stored in
those different DB2 formats and to work with them as if they were all the same. The program is written in
Java and runs in any Java-enabled browser. IBM says that a wide variety of common business tasks are
accomplished by editing database tables, and that the graphical environment of the DB2 Tool Editor makes
it easy for novice users as well as experts to handle databases. V4.3 of this tool allows users to edit a
column value by using a formula rather than having to make changes manually in each relevant field in a
database. The new release includes myriad enhancements to lock columns, format data, and move around
the editor easier; it also includes improved support for large object binaries, or LOBs--things like pictures
and audio files, which have been supported in DB2 for years.
The DB2 Web Query Tool (5697-G84) is a Web-based tool that allows any user working from a Web
browser--be it on a desktop, server, cell phone, or PDA--to use JDBC commands to query multiple
databases residing on various DB2 platforms. This program, which also runs on the iSeries, can reach into
DB2 databases on Windows, Unix, and Linux servers and perform SQL queries against one or many
databases, using JDBC. The new V1.3 release is J2EE-compliant, which means it can be deployed in
conjunction with WebSphere V4.0 on the OS/400 platform. This release also includes enhancements to
support the SOAP and XML protocols for data interchange. The updated software also has the capability to
create charts and graphs based on the results of a query, and can also launch the appropriate viewer
program from within a query to render a picture, hear an audio clip, or roll a video.
The DB2 Table Editor and DB2 Web Query Tool are sold separately for the same prices. Those prices are
based on the traditional OS/400 software tiers, as follows:
P05: $700
P10: $1,000
P20: $4,000
P30: $4,400
P40: $6,700
P40: $7,000
In a separate announcement, IBM last week announced a special deal that gives customers who buy
$50,000 worth of DB2 online analytical processing tools $3,000 worth of credits good toward the purchase
of education and training from IBM Learning Services. Customers have until August 2 to acquire these
DB2 OLAP products, and education and training has to be completed by December 31. IBM's DB2 OLAP
Server Standard Edition, OLAP Server AS/400, OLAP Integration Server, OLAP Server Tools Bundle,
OLAP Server Analyzer Analysis Server, and various related OLAP tools are included under this deal.
Some 46 IBM Learning Services courses are eligible for the deal, with topics that run the gamut of DB2
topics, on myriad platforms.
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